Sunday, June 25, 2006
Hockey Night in Bangkok!
Yesterday I attended a Canada Day Party at, ironically, the British Club in Bangkok. What happens when a bunch of Canadians celebrate their national holiday, albeit early, and cold, high quality Canadian beer begins to flow? A ball hockey game breaks out, under the sweltering Bangkok sun! It was a hard core, intense game, and I have some excellent photos of my face being loaded with grit and concentration! After the game we had an excellent dinner. Of course, a Canada Day party would not be complete without singing the national anthem. For this party, the organizers had downloaded the Canadian anthem, as sung by the Edmonton fans during game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Paul Lorieau only had to sing the first few words, and then the sold out crowd of 16839 took over. I was so proud of my compatriots! During the meal we watched highlights from game 6 and 7. I still find game 7 depressing to think about.
After dinner, I took off early. To be honest, I didn't like Bangkok at all, and was beginning to get the first pangs of depression. Thankfully, I was able to leave that godforesaken place early this morning. I caught a 6AM bus, which thanks to a cock up by the travel agent I nearly missed, for Ko Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. As I stood impatiently waiting to be picked up, I distracted myself checking out all the guys who had picked up Thai women. I'd love to know what kind of transactions these really are. My guess is that many of them are sex tourists. Most of them don't look any different from the average guy. It is sad that people engage in relationships that aren't mutually respectful, but they do, and there is nothing that is ever going to change that, so live and let live I suppose.
The final part of my trip was aboard of catamaran. It was exciting, cruising the high seas at significant velocity. I am really glad to be in Ko Tao. I am already in a much better mood and I only just arrived. I should run because in an hour I have the first session of my PADI certificate course. That's right, I am learning how to dive! In four days I will be fully trained and looking forward to doing some dives later this holiday and in the fall in Vancouver!
After dinner, I took off early. To be honest, I didn't like Bangkok at all, and was beginning to get the first pangs of depression. Thankfully, I was able to leave that godforesaken place early this morning. I caught a 6AM bus, which thanks to a cock up by the travel agent I nearly missed, for Ko Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. As I stood impatiently waiting to be picked up, I distracted myself checking out all the guys who had picked up Thai women. I'd love to know what kind of transactions these really are. My guess is that many of them are sex tourists. Most of them don't look any different from the average guy. It is sad that people engage in relationships that aren't mutually respectful, but they do, and there is nothing that is ever going to change that, so live and let live I suppose.
The final part of my trip was aboard of catamaran. It was exciting, cruising the high seas at significant velocity. I am really glad to be in Ko Tao. I am already in a much better mood and I only just arrived. I should run because in an hour I have the first session of my PADI certificate course. That's right, I am learning how to dive! In four days I will be fully trained and looking forward to doing some dives later this holiday and in the fall in Vancouver!
